July
2004 - I'm happy to report that due to technical
difficulties, Julio Toyota has not been seen raging the
highways in his Dodge
Diesel since he was allegedly "nerfed" somewhere in
Utah. I'm sure we will see more of him on the American
highways soon.
The
Dodge Question and Answer section continues to be beseiged
with readers constant quest for the more information.
Wow,
this past month has been a whirlwind of excitement in the off-road
racing world. Starting with the Baja 500 held in, of course,
Ensenada, Baja California and then off to Jellico, Tennessee
for the UROC Pro-National rock crawling event and then all the
way back across the nation to the longest off-road race in the
United States, Best in the Deserts - Vegas to Reno Off-Road
race. We have been some traveling maniacs this month and being
on the asphalt and dirt roads of America and Baja mean we are
out with the fans of Off-Road.com
Case
and point:
Parked
with the MotoSat satellite system working it's magic at the
UROC Pro-National rock crawling event, a Kentucky reader
walked right up to the front bumper of The Desert Tank and
immediately starting giving his buddies the full tour of each
and every accessory on the truck.
From
the T-Rex Suspension to the Off-Road Tech bumper to the
Mastercraft seats, MotoSat Satellite, BFGoodrich Tires, Robby
Gordon Off
Road wheels and more. This guy knew it all!
He
scored the last of the ORC decals we had in the truck as we've
been preserving them until the next batch is delivered. We
were fresh out of the cool Off-Road.com t-shirts so the decal
was the next best thing. He left with a big smile and told us
he was bringing his wife back on Sunday for the tour.
In
the various truck stops around the nation we garnered much
attention and many waves from readers and fans alike. Look for
us throughout the nation in the next couple months as we
traverse back and forth a couple times from the West Coast to
the East Coast in search of the next big off-road event!
|
The
Malarimmo Highway...beat the tide and drive safe in
Baja!
|
Bob
Stack asked:
I've
been driving a Ford for 6 years and been reading The
Desertbull's column for a couple years and I'm thinking about
finally giving up on my Ford for the new Dodge
Ram 600 CTD. What are your thoughts?
Desertbull
says: Perhaps
I have a somewhat biased opinion, however the bottom line is
that the Dodge CTD (Cummins Turbo Diesel) has some 28% less
moving parts than any other comparable truck diesel motor on
the market. It's worked for me for a very long time and I've
been very happy with the performance over the past 180,000
miles. I'm looking for another 300,000 miles before we start
worrying about doing an overhaul.
Liz
J. said:
I have a 2001 Dodge Ram 4x4 shortbed and was wondering
what options are out there for aftermarket wheels.
Desertbull
says: Good
question and it really depends what you're looking for. For
example, on The Desert Tank we are running 17" wheels.
Reason being is the various BFGoodrich tires we run are all
35x12.50.x17. Most recently on the trip back to the East Coast
we put a set of BFGoodrich All-Terrains on.
We
noticed a tremendous difference in handling and manuervability
while in the mountains. The tire really handled well under
rain, sleet, ice and high-speeds without any hesitation at
all.
The
wheel options at this size are limited, however Robby Gordon
Off-Road, Alcoa Forged Specialty Wheels and Walker Evans
Racing all manufacture wheels that may work for you.
Sergio
said: What stereo system do you have in The Desert
Tank?
Desertbull
says: We have a Kenwood MP3/CD
stereo complete with SIRIUS Satellite Radio for listening to
tunes wherever you are in the United States and/or Baja!
Backed up with Alpine Speakers...The Desert Tank tends to rock
out pretty heavy down the dirt roads of Baja.
On
a recent trip, Jeff Cummins from BFGoodrich Motorsports
navigated our trip into the wilds of Baja while directing
Santana across the airwaves for hours on end. Yup, a little
bit of old school will never hurt ya!
Larry
M. asked : Do they make fiberglass for a Dodge Ram?
Desertbull says: I
thought this may have been the same question from last
month...but it's a different reader...go figure! Check out www.GlassworksUnlimited.com
They are located in Huntington Beach, California
and have great prices to go along with some quick turn around
times.
|
Clean
and ready to rage...once again!
|
Barry
Stevenson asked: What rear end gear ration do you
recommend for towing.
Desertbull
says: This is another tough question to address. If you leave
your stock OEM wheel & tire size on the truck you can get
away with 3.73 rear end towing a decent load. However, when
you increase your wheel/tire size the rear end ratio is
changed and you need to make the adjustments. We run 4.10
gears with 35 inch tires on 17" wheels which allows us to
tow at about the same ratio as a stock 3.73 would tow with.
Check with Randy's Ring
& Pinion for a gear ration chart and select what is
best for your towing capacity.
|
I'm
always questioned about how we can find so much
adventure in Baja...check this out!
|
Dennis
& Cheryl asked : We are experiencing slippage in our
automatic transmission after towing a small camper trailer on
a 2000 mile trip. We have heard much about the Dodge stock
transmission and we have to make some decisions, can you help?
Thanks,
D & C.
Desertbull
says: One thing to say....www.ATSDIESEL.com
ATS
Diesel provides the highest quality heavy duty transmission on
the market. It's Baja Proven and continues to perform as if it
was brand new!
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